Overwatch League Team Announcements and Player Salaries

We finally have our first seven teams to be part of the Overwatch League. As talked about before, Overwatch League teams will be based out of and represent specific cities. The seven teams are a mix of established e-sport organisations and a few traditional sports organisations.

The Seven Teams

The US East coast has representation with Robert Kraft (New England Patriots, an NFL team) locking in Boston. Not far behind him was Jeff Wilpon (New York Mets, an MLB team) securing New York. Boston and New York have a storied history of strong competition across several sports, which these traditional sports personalities will carry into the OWL.

Concluding East coast teams is Misfits, representing both Miami and Orlando. Across the US, Immortals represent the sprawling Los Angeles. NRG secured San Francisco as their OWL hometown. Asia finds its teams with NetEast claiming Shanghai and Kevin Chou of Kabam securing Seoul.

As of writing, no European cities have been claimed. Although Europe likely won’t be far behind. The Overwatch World Cup has proven EU interest in competitive Overwatch is strong.

The Overwatch World Cup is strictly for national teams, with 2016 going to South Korea.

Player Signings

E-sports has had a problem in the past and present. Teams and Organisations have actively taken advantage of players, claiming most of their winnings for themselves and not paying players a living salary, if they pay them at all. Blizzard decided to do something.

All teams wishing to compete in the Overwatch League must pay their players a minimum salary of 50,000 USD a year.

Health Insurance and Retirement plans must be provided.

50% of “team performance bonus” (tournament winnings) goes directly to the players on top of their salary.

There is no region locking for players, so the place of birth and citizenship are irrelevant.

Teams must provide housing and practice facilities during each season of play.

Not mentioned are stream earnings, although at this point it is safe to assume that these earnings belong solely to the player streaming. The rules set by Blizzard push the standard of professional gaming further, cementing its legitimacy as a sport and career.

Signings for the Overwatch League aren’t limited to the known pros. Any of the 30+ million players are eligible for signing, provided they prove their worth. The League isn’t expected to kick off until early 2018, so there’s plenty of time for the world of e-sports to gain a few more heroes.

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About The Author

I write about eSports, covering emerging titles, balance patches, and the growth of the Industry itself in Ireland and abroad. My first foray into competitive gaming was Halo 2, and have since played almost every genre competitively. Currently I play across Xbox and PC, with prominent titles being Overwatch, Halo, and PlayerUnkown’s Battlegrounds. When the tilt overcomes me, and I’m not streaming or gaming, I can be found reading and writing Sci-Fi or playing Dungeons & Dragons.